When it came time to record Delta Spirit’s third album, the band members knew one thing: It was time to shake off the stylistic labels that have shadowed them since they formed in San Diego, CA, in 2005. Though lyricists Matt Vasquez and Kelly Winrich were grateful for the warm reviews that their previous albums Ode To Sunshine (2008) and History From Below (2010) received, they were perplexed at being called “rootsy Americana” or “twangy folk.” In their eyes, Delta Spirit has always been a thoroughly modern rock band, and, with their self-titled new album, they set out to prove it.

“We found the sound that we've been looking for, that we've been growing into, and as soon as we hit on it, we ran with it,” Vasquez says. “That’s why it’s a self-titled record, so we could connect our identity with the album, because this album is what we think Delta Spirit is. People make records for their time and we wanted to make one for our time. Just like novelists want to write the Great American Novel, we wanted to make a Great American Record. Not one about yesterday, but one about right now.”

To help them realize their vision, the band recruited producer Chris Coady (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio, Beach House, and Smith Westerns, among others), and recorded the album at Dreamland – a converted church built in 1896 in Woodstock, New York. Delta Spirit has captured the sound of a band who have truly come into their own.

“'The band's smarts and muscle come together with a resounding whomp.”